Full text

The following is the full text of the homily given by Pope
Benedict XVI in which he issued his first full and explicit public
apology to victims of child sex abuse by Catholic priests.

"Dear Brothers and Sisters, In this noble cathedral I rejoice to
greet my brother bishops and priests, and the deacons, religious
and laity of the Archdiocese of Sydney.

"In a very special way, my greeting goes to the seminarians and
young religious who are present among us. Like the young Israelites
in today's first reading, they are a sign of hope and renewal for
God's people; and, like those young Israelites, they will have the
task of building up the Lord's house in the coming generation.

"As we admire this magnificent edifice, how can we not think of
all those ranks of priests, religious and faithful laity who, each
in his or her own way, contributed to the building up of the Church
in Australia?

"Our thoughts turn in particular to those settler families to
whom Father Jeremiah O'Flynn entrusted the Blessed Sacrament at his
departure, a 'small flock' which cherished and preserved that
precious treasure, passing it on to the succeeding generations who
raised this great tabernacle to the glory of God.

"Let us rejoice in their fidelity and perseverance, and dedicate
ourselves to carrying on their labours for the spread of the
Gospel, the conversion of hearts and the growth of the Church in
holiness, unity and charity!

"We are about to celebrate the dedication of the new altar of
this venerable cathedral.

"As its sculpted frontal powerfully reminds us, every altar is a
symbol of Jesus Christ, present in the midst of his Church as
priest, altar and victim (cf. Preface of Easter V).

"Crucified, buried and raised from the dead, given life in the
Spirit and seated at the right hand of the Father, Christ has
become our great high priest, eternally making intercession for
us.

"In the Church's liturgy, and above all in the sacrifice of the
Mass consummated on the altars of the world, he invites us, the
members of his mystical Body, to share in his self-oblation.

"He calls us, as the priestly people of the new and eternal
covenant, to offer, in union with him, our own daily sacrifices for
the salvation of the world.

"In today's liturgy the Church reminds us that, like this altar,
we too have been consecrated, set 'apart' for the service of God
and the building up of his Kingdom.

"All too often, however, we find ourselves immersed in a world
that would set God 'aside'. In the name of human freedom and
autonomy, God's name is passed over in silence, religion is reduced
to private devotion, and faith is shunned in the public square.

"At times this mentality, so completely at odds with the core of
the Gospel, can even cloud our own understanding of the Church and
her mission.

"We too can be tempted to make the life of faith a matter of
mere sentiment, thus blunting its power to inspire a consistent
vision of the world and a rigorous dialogue with the many other
visions competing for the minds and hearts of our
contemporaries.

"Yet history, including the history of our own time, shows that
the question of God will never be silenced, and that indifference
to the religious dimension of human existence ultimately diminishes
and betrays man himself.

"Is that not the message which is proclaimed by the magnificent
architecture of this cathedral? Is that not the mystery of faith
which will be proclaimed from this altar at every celebration of
the Eucharist?

"Faith teaches us that in Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word, we
come to understand the grandeur of our own humanity, the mystery of
our life on this earth, and the sublime destiny which awaits us in
heaven (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 24).

"Faith teaches us that we are God's creatures, made in his image
and likeness, endowed with an inviolable dignity, and called to
eternal life. Wherever man is diminished, the world around us is
also diminished; it loses its ultimate meaning and strays from its
goal.

"What emerges is a culture, not of life, but of death. How could
this be considered 'progress'? It is a backward step, a form of
regression which ultimately dries up the very sources of life for
individuals and all of society.

"We know that in the end - as Saint Ignatius of Loyola saw so
clearly - the only real 'standard' against which all human reality
can be measured is the Cross and its message of an unmerited love
which triumphs over evil, sin and death, creating new life and
unfading joy.

"The Cross reveals that we find ourselves only by giving our
lives away, receiving God's love as an unmerited gift and working
to draw all men and women into the beauty of that love and the
light of the truth which alone brings salvation to the world.

"It is in this truth - this mystery of faith - that we have been
"consecrated" (cf. Jn 17:17-19), and it is in this truth that we
are called to grow, with the help of God's grace, in daily fidelity
to his word, within the life-giving communion of the Church.

"Yet how difficult is this path of consecration! It demands
continual 'conversion', a sacrificial death to self which is the
condition for belonging fully to God, a change of mind and heart
which brings true freedom and a new breadth of vision.

"Today's liturgy offers an eloquent symbol of that progressive
spiritual transformation to which each of us is called.

"From the sprinkling of water, the proclamation of God's word
and the invocation of all the saints, to the prayer of
consecration, the anointing and washing of the altar, its being
clothed in white and apparelled in light - all these rites invite
us to re-live our own consecration in Baptism.

"They invite us to reject sin and its false allure, and to drink
ever more deeply from the life-giving springs of God's grace.

"Dear friends, may this celebration, in the presence of the
Successor of Peter, be a moment of rededication and renewal for the
whole Church in Australia!

'Here I would like to pause to acknowledge the shame which we
have all felt as a result of the sexual abuse of minors by some
clergy and religious in this country.

"Indeed I am deeply sorry for the pain and suffering the victims
have endured and I assure them that, as their pastor, I too share
in their suffering.

"These misdeeds, which constitute so grave a betrayal of trust,
deserve unequivocal condemnation. They have caused great pain and
have damaged the Church's witness.

"I ask all of you to support and assist your bishops, and to
work together with them in combating this evil. Victims should
receive compassion and care, and those responsible for these evils
must be brought to justice.

"It is an urgent priority to promote a safer and more wholesome
environment, especially for young people. In these days marked by
the celebration of World Youth Day, we are reminded of how precious
a treasure has been entrusted to us in our young people, and how
great a part of the Church's mission in this country has been
dedicated to their education and care.

"As the Church in Australia continues, in the spirit of the
Gospel, to address effectively this serious pastoral challenge, I
join you in praying that this time of purification will bring about
healing, reconciliation and ever greater fidelity to the moral
demands of the Gospel.

"I wish now to turn to the seminarians and young religious in
our midst, with a special word of affection and encouragement.

"Dear friends: with great generosity you have set out on a
particular path of consecration, grounded in your Baptism and
undertaken in response to the Lord's personal call.

"You have committed yourselves, in different ways, to accepting
Christ's invitation to follow him, to leave all behind, and to
devote your lives to the pursuit of holiness and the service of his
people.

"In today's Gospel, the Lord calls us to 'believe in the light'
(Jn 12:36). These words have a special meaning for you, dear young
seminarians and religious.

"They are a summons to trust in the truth of God's word and to
hope firmly in his promises. They invite us to see, with the eyes
of faith, the infallible working of his grace all around us, even
in those dark times when all our efforts seem to be in vain.

"Let this altar, with its powerful image of Christ the Suffering
Servant, be a constant inspiration to you.

"Certainly there are times when every faithful disciple will
feel the heat and the burden of the day (cf. Mt 20:12), and the
struggle of bearing prophetic witness before a world which can
appear deaf to the demands of God's word.

"Do not be afraid! Believe in the light! Take to heart the truth
which we have heard in today's second reading: "Jesus Christ is the
same, yesterday, today and for ever" (Heb 13:8). The light of
Easter continues to dispel the darkness!

"The Lord also calls us to walk in the light (cf. Jn 12:35).
Each of you has embarked on the greatest and the most glorious of
all struggles, to be consecrated in truth, to grow in virtue, to
achieve harmony between your thoughts and ideals, and your words
and actions.

"Enter sincerely and deeply into the discipline and spirit of
your programmes of formation. Walk in Christ's light daily through
fidelity to personal and liturgical prayer, nourished by meditation
on the inspired word of God.

"The Fathers of the Church loved to see the Scriptures as a
spiritual Eden, a garden where we can walk freely with God,
admiring the beauty and harmony of his saving plan as it bears
fruit in our own lives, in the life of the Church and in all of
history.

"Let prayer, then, and meditation on God's word, be the lamp
which illumines, purifies and guides your steps along the path
which the Lord has marked out for you.

"Make the daily celebration of the Eucharist the centre of your
life. At each Mass, when the Lord's Body and Blood are lifted up at
the end of the Eucharistic Prayer, lift up your own hearts and
lives, through Christ, with him and in him, in the unity of the
Holy Spirit, as a loving sacrifice to God our Father.

"In this way, dear young seminarians and religious, you
yourselves will become living altars, where Christ's sacrificial
love is made present as an inspiration and a source of spiritual
nourishment to everyone you meet.

"By embracing the Lord's call to follow him in chastity, poverty
and obedience, you have begun a journey of radical discipleship
which will make you "signs of contradiction" (cf. Lk 2:34) to many
of your contemporaries.

"Model your lives daily on the Lord's own loving self-oblation
in obedience to the will of the Father.

"You will then discover the freedom and joy which can draw
others to the Love which lies beyond all other loves as their
source and their ultimate fulfilment.

"Never forget that celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom means
embracing a life completely devoted to love, a love that enables
you to commit yourselves fully to God's service and to be totally
present to your brothers and sisters, especially those in need.

"The greatest treasures that you share with other young people -
your idealism, your generosity, your time and energy - these are
the very sacrifices which you are placing upon the Lord's
altar.

"May you always cherish this beautiful charism which God has
given you for his glory and the building up of the Church!

"Dear friends, let me conclude these reflections by drawing your
attention to the great stained glass window in the chancel of this
cathedral. There Our Lady, Queen of Heaven, is represented
enthroned in majesty beside her divine Son.

"The artist has represented Mary, as the new Eve, offering an
apple to Christ, the new Adam.

"This gesture symbolises her reversal of our first parents'
disobedience, the rich fruit which God's grace bore in her own
life, and the first fruits of that redeemed and glorified humanity
which she has preceded into the glory of heaven.

"Let us ask Mary, Help of Christians, to sustain the Church in
Australia in fidelity to that grace by which the Crucified Lord
even now "draws to himself" all creation and every human heart (cf.
Jn 12:32).

"May the power of his Holy Spirit consecrate the faithful of
this land in truth, and bring forth abundant fruits of holiness and
justice for the redemption of the world.

"May it guide all humanity into the fullness of life around that
Altar, where, in the glory of the heavenly liturgy, we are called
to sing God's praises for ever. Amen."